Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Cedar Rapids,
Iowa – For numerous years, the
International Motor Contests Association (IMCA) would have traditional dates on
its schedule year in and year out, whether it was sprint cars or stock cars.

One of those long-established dates was the IMCA sprint cars
at Hawkeye Downs on July 4th weekend. Starting in 1951 and continuing until
1968, race fans could get the best of both worlds on the holiday weekend;
seeing their favorite open-wheel stars and then witnessing fireworks
afterwards.

Deb Snyder would be in a class all by himself
on July 4, 1951 at Hawkeye
Downs as he rolled to three victories in the American Legion-sponsored big car
program before 4,000 shivering fans. The handsome Kent, Ohio,
veteran laid claim to three IMCA world speed records in the process, taking
advantage of ideal track conditions. The only blemish on Snyder’s afternoon was
when he failed to finish the first heat because forgot to take the radiator
cover off and his motor and it overheated

Snyder
started out by turning fast time on the half-mile oval in 23.49 seconds. The
IMCA record for the distance was 23.70, set at the Minnesota State Fair track
by the late Gus Schrader on Aug. 23, 1941.

Deb then lowered an Emory Collins mark when
he won the 7-lap semi-main in 2 minutes and 2.90 seconds. The retired LeMars, Iowa,
driver claimed that mark with a 2:04.50 effort at the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 29, 1948.

Another
Schrader time was eclipsed in the feature when Snyder went the 12.5 miles in 10
minutes and 37.58 seconds. Schrader had turned in an 11:51.50 time on the
Hawkeye track back on May 29, 1938.

Ohio's Deb Snyder dominated the first three holiday cards at Hawkeye Downs from 1951 - 1953.

Snyder
would come back on July 4,
1952, to defend his title but experience a little more difficulty
in doing so. Once again Snyder turned in the fastest time, breaking the year
old mark he established, with a time of 23.25 seconds.

After
winning the trophy dash and first heat effortlessly, it appeared that Snyder
would have another easy time of it in the 20-lap main event. But Snyder, while
leading the race in the first few laps, uncharacteristically spun out, allowing
his chief rivals, Pete Folse and Bert Hellmueller, to pass by him.

Snyder
would right the ship, however, and make his way back to the front to challenge
the leaders. By lap 10, Snyder would get by Hellmueller and on the 15th
circuit, power by Folse for the top spot and eventually the win.

An Iowa farm boy turned big
car pilot would come within two laps of beating the two-time defending champion
at Hawkeye Downs before more than 4,500 fans on Saturday, July 4, 1953.

In a
sizzling finish to the American Legion’s big car auto races, Leon DeRock led
Deb Snyder for 13 blistering laps. The Mason City speedster
fought off Snyder’s efforts to pass him at every turn until the two drivers
started approaching slower traffic on lap 13.

As
they came out of the turn in front of the grandstand, DeRock was forced to let
up momentarily in the traffic and that was all Snyder needed. The defending
IMCA champion buried his foot in the carburetor, swung his car wide and took
over the lead. But for 13 laps it was the most torrid big car competition seen at
the Downs in recent years.

Snyder
winning was made all the more heroic by the fact that he was driving in misery the
whole way. He had slipped a disc in his back while lifting a motor block
recently. He had been hunched over and walked with a limp. He was almost unconscious when he brought his
car to a stop in victory lane. First aid had to be administered and he had to
be helped from the cockpit of his Offenhauser.

When the IMCA big cars rolled into town on July 4, 1954, there would be no Deb
Snyder to contend with, which I’m sure brought a smile to most of the
competitors signed in. Leon DeRock, who almost beat Snyder the year before, was
beaming by the end of the afternoon program.

The Mason City pilot, drivinga car powered by an EmoryCollins Offenhauser motor, establisheda
20-lap record of 8 minutes and 41.54 seconds in winning thetitle. The
old mark of 8:53.90 wasset in 1952 by Snyder.

Before a crowd of 4,000, DeRock led home “Wee”
Willie Thompson of Mill Valley, Calif., and Stan Calloway of Miami, Fla.,
in the feature race, his first career win at the half-mile in three years of
big car competition. DeRock also set fast time and won his heat race.

Bert
Hellmueller, the grizzled dirt track veteran from Louisville, Ky.,
had visited the Hawkeye Downs oval many times in the last few years but always
as “a bridesmaid, never a bride.”

He
would thrill 4,000 big car race fans on Monday, July 4, 1955, when he tooled his new
four-wheel machine past Bobby Grim of Indianapolis to take the 10-mile feature
in 9 minutes and 21.35 seconds.

It
was the first appearance on a racetrack of the new Hellmueller-designed machine
and Bert's weather-beaten face was wreathed in smiles when fans swarmed
around the machine after the race. The victory was more impressive since it was
registered over Grim who had been dominating the IMCA point’s standings.

Grim
started the feature in the pole position while Hellmueller was seventh in the
12-car field. It took the “Kentucky Colonel” four laps to get behind Grim. Then
he rode on Grim’s bumper for another three tours before the Hellmueller Ranger,
throwing dirt with every one if its four-powered wheels, edged past Grim.

Johnny
Poulsen of Gardena, Calif., would parlay his ability to slip
through heavy traffic into afeature
victory on July 4, 1956 in
the first big car ever held under the lights at Hawkeye
Downs.

A
crowd of 8,000 fans were on hand as Poulsen dueled with Jack Jordan of Alhambra, Calif.,
and Don Carr of Indianapolis
for most of the 20-lap feature. In the late laps, when the lead cars began
lapping slower cars in the 12-car field, Poulsen did some fancy work in the
first turn and on the backstretch to wrap up the feature title.

Poulsen
also had the night’s fastest time trial as he negotiated the half mile oval in
23.93 seconds. The IMCA pilots found the rebuilt Downs
oval to their liking, although a slick spot in the backstretch gave the drivers
some trouble. Seven of the 18 cars that timed made the grade under the 24 second
bracket and five others timed in the 25 second bracket.

Vic
Ellis, a former Midwest Midget Auto Racing Association driver, did an excellent
job with a Dodge conversion. The Rockton, Ill., speedster qualified fourth fastest in
24.50 seconds and finished seventh in the feature.

Bobby
Grim of Indianapolis
led an assault of the IMCA record book on Thursday, July 4, 1957 at Hawkeye Downs in the first big
car race on the reconditioned half-mile track.

Taking
full advantage of the newly banked turns, Grim rolled his Offenhauser to a new
track record, an unofficial IMCA one-lap mark and a six-lap IMCA record. He
probably would have set a 10-lap record too, except that an accident eliminated
the time element. In addition, Vic Ellis raced to an IMCA 12-lap mark in the semi-main,
and Buzz Barton of Tampa, Fla., lowered the circuit’s 10-lap record in the
second heat.

Grim
scored a sweep on the evening in his powerful Offenhauser, one of 12 in the field of 25 cars, taking the
25-lap feature, the six-lap dash, the first heat and the fast qualifier.
Grim led most of the way in the 15-lap feature, but the track apparently had
grown too slick for record-breaking at that point.

Grim
turned the Downs oval in 22.03 seconds during
time trials for the fastest one lap ever recorded by IMCA. However, it was
calculated by a stop watch. The old track record had been 22.86 seconds, set by
Joe Sostillio. An idea of the speed presented for some 5,000 fans at the
Legion-sponsored event, six cars qualified in the 22-second bracket, an
exclusive group in past years, and nine other cars timed in the 23-second range.

Grim’s time of 2 minutes and 21.19 seconds in
the 6-lap trophy dash, however, would go down in the books, as would the
records set by Ellis and Barton. Ellis won the 12-lap semi-main in the record
time of 4 minutes and 52.07 seconds and Barton set an all-time IMCA mark of 4
minutes and 6.7 seconds for 10 laps in winning the second beat.

Grim
would come back to defend his title on July 4, 1958,
but the program would be marred by the death of an up and coming, and very
popular driver.

Vic
Ellis, a 31-year-old veteran of racing, was killed during the consolation
event. The Rockton, Ill.,
driver, who had long been a favorite in Eastern Iowa
racing circles, died in an ambulance en route to a hospital after his # 51
Dodge conversion flipped on the lap 7 of the race.

Ellis
was running fourth when the accident occurred on the dangerous west turn. Arnie
Knepper of St. Louis,
who had earlier bounced off the rail on the same turn, appeared to have lost
control of his Offenhauser. It went sideways in the turn and bumped the car
driven by Ellis, sending the #51 car tumbling end over end.

The mangled remains of Vic Ellis' car.

Few
fans or drivers were aware of Ellis' death when Grim raced to the 20-lap
feature victory, leading home Al “Cotton” Farmer, Pete Folse and Jim Packard.

Just
prior to the fatal accident Ellis had seen his IMCA 8-lap record of 3 minutes
and 8.60 seconds eclipsed in the first heat race of the night. That was won by
Farmer in the record time of 3 minutes and 6.1 seconds.

Afterwards,
IMCA officials said that Ellis had been uncertain of his chances of entering
the Cedar Rapids
race because of damages to his car a week ago. Ellis attached a note to his pre-entry
that read: “Car was smashed up some last
week. Hope to get it fixed in time to make race. Vic.”

Two
spectacular crashes would highlight the big car finale on July 5, 1959. On the white flag lap, Mickey
McCormick of Hutchinson, Kan., hit a rut on the backstretch of the
track and lost control of his car. He hurtled through the fence about 50 feet
from where Jim Hurtubise of Lennox,
Calif., had crashed on the second
lap of the race.

Hurtubise
had earlier tangled with another car in the battle for the runner-up spot
heading out of turn two. Suddenly, his car started rolling end over end through
the air. His car virtually leaped over the back guard rail, spinning out of
sight and into the darkness. The car came to rest on railroad tracks that
parallel the Downs’ backstretch.

Pete
Folse of Tampa, Fla., dominated the big car events as
expected. The current IMCA point leader set fast time of 23.87 seconds, then won
the first heat, a special 4-lap dash event and led the entire 12-lap feature.
Arnie Knepper would take second; Jack Rounds of Huntington Park, Calif. took
third; Ed Loetscher of St. Louis
was fourth and Wayne Alsbaugh of Anderson,
Ind., earned fifth.

A.J.
Shepherd of Gardenia, Calif.,
would come close to a grand slam but settle for a triple on July 3, 1959.

Before
a capacity crowd of 8,000, Shepherd would set fast time (23.77), win his heat
and then race home in front of an impressive field in the feature. His only
miss would be the four-car trophy dash, where he would be locked in a tense
duel with Harold Leep of Wichita,
Kan., and eventually settled for
third place.

Leep,
in fact, would be the only non-Offy driver to put up a successful challenge in
the Sunday night program. Driving a Chevrolet conversion, Leep won the second
heat, scored the win over Shepherd and then earned a solid fourth place finish
behind Shepherd, Jerry Blundy of Galesburg,
Ill., and defending race winner
Pete Folse in the 20-lap main.

Dick
Ritchie of Cedar Rapids, a crowd favorite, wound up second in his heat, second
in the trophy dash and finished eighth in the feature after starting 12th.

It
would be “Jim McElreath Night” in Iowa,
on July 4, 1961. An
estimated crowd of 8,000 people watched McElreath wheel his #7 orange Offenhauser
to first place in the feature event.

McElreath
was reaping all kinds of honors on this particular July 4th. The up-and-coming
driver not only swept the Hawkeye Downs main event, but he also won the main
attraction on the Davenport
oval earlier in the same afternoon. It was the same car that A. J. Shepherd had
piloted to victory in 1960.

McElreath,
who had won the second heat race earlier in the night, showed his driving ability
in the feature. After starting in the 12th spot on the outside, he fought his
way to third after 9 laps
had been concluded. On the 10th lap Buzz Barton, who had led to that point,
gave way to McElreath. The whole race would change position after that.

Gordon
Woolley, who had been in the running, was injured when his radiator hose blew
up and the car caught fire. The drivers were given the red flag, at the end of
11 laps, and all pulled into the pits.

After
a 10-minute delay, only 11 of the starting 16 cars went back on the track. At
this time McElreath and Barton were still the top contenders, but Buzz Rose,
who hadn't done much all evening, snatched the runner-up spot on the 12th lap
and pressed McElreath all the way to the finish.

As it
was, Rose wound up in the runner-up spot, two-time national champion Pete Folse
was third, while Barton ended in sixth place.

At
the start of the evening events it looked as if the big race would come from a
couple of Tampa, Fla., drivers, Barton and Folse. The two experienced pilots
finished 1-2 in the time trials. Barton was fast qualifier, speeding around the
fast half-mile in 22.96 seconds while Folse notched a time of

23.25.

Promoter Frank Winkley offers his congratulations to Johnny Rutherford after the young Texan won the July 4th IMCA Sprint Car feature. - IMCA Yearbook

Race fans
- 7,840 of them paid – would beat the threat of rain and a young hotshot driver
by the name of Johnny Rutherford upped his IMCA point lead by grabbing the
feature event on July 4, 1962.

The speedy
Texan walked off with most of the prize money as he grabbed the lead early in the
25-lap feature and was never headed. Rutherford,
driving a Chevy conversion, had to withstand the challenges of Offenhauser
drivers; Minnesota’s
Jerry Richert, Pete Folse, Johnny White and Harold Leep.

Despite
the rains early in the day, the track was fast. The first 20 drivers in the time
trials finished within one and one-half seconds of each other. Rutherford and
Johnny White of Warren, Mich., shared quick time on the day,
qualifying in at 22.76 seconds.

Johnny
White, the defending IMCA national champion, would out duel Gordon Woolley to
win the 20-lap IMCA big car race on July 4, 1963.
White’s winning time was 8 minutes and 9.73 seconds.

Quoting
Cedar Rapids Gazette’s Phil Maly; “Johnny White of Warren, Mich.,
put on a one-man fireworks display as he electrified a Fourth of July crowd of
7,500 in winning the big car races at Hawkeye Downs.”

The
competition centered around White and Woolley all night long. Woolley captured two
races during the evening and White added precious points to his circuit leading
total with victories in the semi-main and the feature.

Woolley looked as though he would be a triple
winner on the muddy Hawkeye Downs track, but he saw his hopes fade in the ninth
lap of the main attraction. The Waco,
Tex. driver throttled his Diz Wilson
Chevy into an early lead, which stood up until White passed him on the first
turn of the 10th lap.

White
didn’t stick around for any more duels, widening his margin and lapping every
driver except for Woolley and Jerry “Scratch” Daniels of St. Paul, Minn. Daniels wound up third in the feature and
Pete Folse, who was battling White for IMCA point leadership, wheeled his Hector
Honore Offenhauser to the fourth spot.

While
Chevrolet was becoming the engine of choice by the ’64 season, there were still
a few owners and drivers who still couldn’t part with their “relic” Offenhausers.
And on July 5, 1964, Buzz
Barton would prove to Chevy owners that the Offenhauser was still a lively
corpse in big car racing.

The
lead-footed driver from Tampa,
Fla., gunned his big Offy home ahead
of the field to capture the 15-lap feature in the Auto Racing, Inc., sanctioned
races. A crowd estimated at 7,200 attended the holiday spectacular.Barton would finish five car lengths ahead of
the Chevrolet conversions, led by Jerry Richert, who started on the pole
position after winning the first heat race.

Jerry
Daniels, also operating a Chevrolet, was a close third in the feature. He had
the fastest qualifying time, turning the half-mile oval in 23.72 seconds. Jim
Moughan of Springfield, Ill., won the second heat, Gordon Woolley
grabbed the third heat and Keith Thomas of Madison, Wis.,
took the semi-main.

Because
race officials took extra time to remedy the slippery condition of the west
curve, the first race didn’t start until after 9:30 and it was after 11:00 when the feature ended.

Veteran
Gordon Woolley of Waco, Tex., driving the Hector Honore Chevrolet-powered
Bardahl Special race car, would lead from green to checker in an exciting
25-lap feature event at Hawkeye Downs to win top honors on July 4, 1965.

Although
he was never headed, Woolley was never safe. Ted Ready of St. Paul, Minn., then
Jim Moughan, and finally Ron Larson of Milltown, Wis., all challenged for the
lead in a series of duels that delighted more than 6,000 fans.

The victory was an important one for Woolley.
It moved him out front in the International Motor Contest Association's
national big car point standings. Woolley took over the point lead from
Jim Moughan of Springfield,
Ill., who had been leading the
points with his Chevrolet-powered machine.

Red
Amick of Muncie, Ind., a former Indianapolis
500 pilot who was one of the pre-race favorites was the hard-luck driver for
the night, and also was involved in the only two mishaps. Late in the first
heat, his Chevrolet jumped out of gear heading into the main stretch. Ted Jones
of Waco, Tex.,
who had the evening’s fast time (23.33 seconds) drove over the front left axle
of Amick, bounced in the air but was able to continue on. The result was a
broken axle for Amick.

Red
then took over the newly-constructed Turner Chevrolet and won the second heat. He was moving up in thefeature rapidly when misfortunestruck again. Challengingfor fourth comingout of turn three, hespun the car and wasforced out of the race.

Tom
Bigelow of Whitewater, Wis., also driving a Chevrolet powered
machine, won the third heat. Buzz Gregory of Indianapolis, in another
Chevrolet-powered car, took the consolation race.

The
annual 4th of July big car races would take a break in 1966. Hawkeye Downs was
in the midst of constructing a new grandstand and the project hadn’t been
completed. The bleacher section, which had been serving fans for weekly racing,
collapsed only weeks before the scheduled holiday program. Big cars and
fireworks would have to wait a year…

Jerry Richert would win the 4th of July special at Hawkeye Downs in 1967. - Al Consoli Photo

Defending
IMCA national sprint car champion Jerry Richert would celebrate the Fourth of
July in fine fashion by capturing the 30-lap feature event on July 4, 1967. Surprisingly, it was
the first win of the season for the three-time champion who hailed from Forest Lake, Minn.

Richert
was elated over the win and confessed, “It seemed like a long time coming. It
just seemed like I was in a rut.”

Richert
started on the outside of the front row and whipped into the front after one
lap. His # 63 wasn’t troubled the rest of the way, although there was a dandy
of a battle for next three positions.

Jay
Woodside of Kansas City
and Karl Busson of Toledo, Ohio, traded the runner-up spot three times
in the final six laps before Woodside snuck inside on the last lap to nip Busson.
Tom Corbin of Carrollton, Mo., was fourth.

The
world record for one lap failed to fall during time trials but two other world
marks were lowered. Both records would belong to Iowans.

Popular Lee Kunzman of Guttenberg set a
record on the splendidly conditioned half-mile of 3 minutes and 55.75 seconds
for the 10-lap first heat. Prior to Kunzman’s feat,MountAyr’s
Hank Smith toppedthe 7-lap
trophy dash ina record 2
minutes and 35.81 seconds.

Jerry Blundy stands in victory lane after winning the main event in 1968.

Jerry
Blundy would use the Hawkeye Downs cushion to perfection and cop the
Independence Day classic on July 4, 1968
before 3,602 paying customers. The Galesburg,
Ill., flash would nip Lee Kunzman
for top honors in the accident-free finale.

Blundy pretty much had clear sailing after
slipping inside the 24-year-old Kunzman on the ninth lap to take the lead, but
Jerry gave his loyal followers some anxious moments the last five tours on the
half-mile dirt track.

He
repeatedly went high in the third turn, kicking up the loose dirt, and each
time Kunzman closed fast. However, Jerry maintained control throughout his
daring tactics and Kunzman - the IMCA sprint car rookie of the year in 1967 - was
unable to overtake him.

“The
track was hard and slick and I went high because that was where the cushion
was,” explained Blundy. “I figured I had enough to stay in front.”

Kunzman echoed those thoughts. “Jerry just
had too much horsepower for me,” said. "I tried to force him through the
cushion but he's too smart to do that.”

National
point leader Jerry Richert won the trophy dash but a mishap of his own doing ruined
his chances of topping the 19-car field in the feature.

Richert
started on the pole with Kunzman on the outside. But, on the first lap, Jerry
hit the guard rail going into turn three and nearly flipped his machine. By the
time he made repairs and got back onto the track, Richert was in 15th place.

However,
in true “Richert style”, Jerry went to the top of the track, rode the cushion
for the remainder of the feature, and finished in third place. Richert, though,
was displeased with himself afterwards. “I
just got into the turn too hard,” he said. “I didn’t realize I was going that
fast. I was halfway over the fence before I realized it.”

Unbeknownst
to drivers and fans, the ’68 contest would be the last of the annual holiday
event. Frank Winkley, who’s Auto Racing, Inc., sanctioned the annual program
for all of those years, would be killed in an auto accident later that same
month and his widow Verna, who would take over the reigns, decided not to
reschedule for 1969.

Five
years later, on July
3, 1973, a Fourth of July sprint car special would be held. Earl
Wagner of Pleasantville, Iowa, would pilot the Hank Smith-prepared
Chevy to victory before 7,000 race fans.

With
the exception of Deb Snyder’s three-year reign in the early years of the event
and Bobby Grim’s two victories, the Fourth of July race at Hawkeye Downs would
prove to be one of the tougher races to win on the IMCA big car circuit.

Preserving the history of Midwest Auto Racing

So much racing history has been made through the years right here in the Midwest.

From the rich dirt ovals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska to the paved short tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin, some of the best drivers ever to get behind the wheel of a race car competed right here in the heartland.

We all have our own story to share about our favorite driver who thrilled us everytime they rolled onto the track or that one particular race that still stands out as the greatest they ever saw.

We'll go back in history, 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 years ago (even more) and reminisce about what has made racing in the Midwest so special for us.